Definition
GEO is the discipline of optimising content for AI search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude or Google AI Overview. The difference to classical SEO: success isn't measured in clicks, but in whether your brand gets mentioned in an AI-generated answer.
That mention only happens when the content is structurally legible to a language model: short, clear definitions, Q&A format, schema.org markup, attributable statements, and a consistent brand vocabulary across the site.
While SEO has been playing the search-results game for twenty years, attention is shifting to the AI answer that comes before the click. Whoever appears there as a source wins regardless of CTR.
Why it matters
In 2025 about 30% of research uses AI tools instead of classical search - in B2B the trend is steeper. Whoever isn't cited in that layer is invisible to a growing audience.
In practice
- 01A definition with a clear opening line (exactly like this page) is preferentially extracted by AI engines.
- 02Schema.org `DefinedTerm` and `FAQPage` markup signals to machines what is citable.
- 03An `llms.txt` file at the domain root tells AI crawlers what your site covers.
